Whoops!!

On Wednesday, Dec. 21st I gave mommy and daddy a huge scare! Mommy and I were sleeping and Daddy was awake when all of the sudden both my heart monitor and my pulse oximeter started alarming. Mommy woke right up and daddy came running into the room. I stayed asleep:) The alarms stopped almost right away so they both calmed down, but then less than an hour later my alarms went off again. And then for the rest of the night they went off almost every 10 minutes. Those stinky alarms kept alarming that my heart rate was too low. Needless to say, mommy and daddy were scared so they called my doctor's office. The doctor on-call asked mommy if the heart monitor was situated correctly on me and mommy said yes. Mommy then explained that both the heart monitor and my pulse oximeter were alarming at the same time. That worried the doctor too, so she told mommy and daddy to take me to the Emergency Room.

Do you know that despite all of my alarms going off, I never woke up once? I didn't hear any of the beeping!!!

We got to the Emergency Room about 5am and they hooked me up to their monitors and I hung out with mommy and daddy for about 4 hours. The ER was really busy that morning because there was a really serious car accident. I don't think I'm ever going to drive....it seems like there's accidents happening all the time. I think I'll just fly everywhere...afterall....I am Z-MAN!!! *laughs*

My heart rate didn't drop really low while we were in the Emergency Room, but it did fluctuate quite a bit. That scared the doctor a little bit so he told me and mommy and daddy that he was going to admit me for 24 hour observation. So, by 9:40am I was on the pediatric unit getting admitted. I had a nurse I'd never met before....(I know almost all of the nurses up there) but she was really nice. She even put up with daddy's weird personality!!! I had to laugh because the nurse asked mommy and daddy if there was any mental illness in the family. Mommy told her that daddy was certifiably crazy, but it hasn't been diagnosed yet. My nurse thought that was funny...even daddy laughed:)

Mommy had to run home and get some Zander stuff and her work....she had to do a little work that day since things were already scheduled. When she got back my Dr. Clark was already visiting me in the hospital. My Dr. Clark ordered an EKG...the picture with all the leads on my belly was taken when they did the EKG. My Dr. Clark also said that she called my monitor company and told them she needed a download right away so she could see what happened to me over night. Mommy was scared that my Dr. Clark was going to make me wear my Os again. But my Dr. Clark said that I was doing great with no nose hose....she wanted to see how long I could go without my nose hose...I have news for her....I plan to go forever!:)

Wow, did I have a lot of visits that day. See the picture of the crib they put me in? It was so big and there were so many metal bars, that I seriously thought I was a monkey at the zoo and people were visiting me. Come to think of it, the whole day was kind of funny!! Anyway, me and daddy and mommy hung out at the hospital with all the nurses for most of the day. Around 6pm my Dr. Clark came back and told mommy that everything was fine and I was healthy as a little Zander can be. She then explained to mommy that a couple months back....right after I had my week break from my Os, she had asked the monitor company to change my alarms to a lower heart rate. She said that as I grow old my heart rate will slow down to a normal rate. My Dr. Clark said that the only thing that was going on with me the night before was that I was sleeping very deeply.

Needless to say, mommy and daddy felt silly for being paranoid. But you know what, everyone was really good about being supportive. My Dr. Clark said that mommy and daddy did exactly what they should have. They just followed the advice of the doctors. Mommy asked my Dr. Clark if I could go home right then since I was healthy. After making sure that the monitor company was going to come right out and reset my monitor alarms my Dr. Clark said I could go home. What a weird day!!!!! Do you know anyone who has ever been admitted for 7 hours???

I am proud to say that since my monitors were reset, I haven't had any low heart rate alarms!!! Yay for me!!

Oh yeah, on this day (Dec. 21st) I weighed 14 lbs and 4 ozs. I'm getting heavy! Also, I just wanted to tell you all that one really good thing came out of my short hospital stay. I got to see some of my favorite nurses before Christmas. See, mommy and daddy had already planned on taking me to see the nurses and doctors on Christmas Day, just to visit of course. Well, not every one has to work on Christmas, so I actually got to see a lot of my favorite staff members that wouldn't be working on Christmas. Can you believe that mommy accused me of purposely making my alarms go off, just so I could see everyone? I know she didn't really mean it, but when she said it everyone laughed. And some of the nurses told mommy that if I really did make my alarms beep on purpose, then I was a very smart little boy.....because they didn't want to miss seeing me. I have to tell you, I have the best nurses in the world....and they're all my best friends!!!!!

Oh Baby Zander

Do you notice anything different in this picture? I don't have any Os in my nose!!!!! That's right...on Dec. 13th I got see my Dr. Clark for a 8 month check-up and she told mommy and daddy that it was time to try me off the Os again. Mommy took them off of me that night and I have been off ever since. I gotta tell ya, now that I don't have my nose hose mommy has to clean out my nose lots. And it's so weird breathing the same air as every one else. Did you know that sometimes things really stink??? *grins* Especially my bottom. HAHA

On The Level

Okay, so mommy and daddy have been putting me in this new seat....I think it's great, I am on the same level as mommy and daddy. I can look them right in the eyes now:) I'm not that great at sitting up all by myself, but if you wrap enough blankets around me, I think I do a pretty good job. I think I heard mommy calling this chair a highchair. I'm pretty sure it goes along with the whole "Spoon" and food thing, but so far I just sit in it. Mommy told me she wanted to let me get used to the highchair before she makes me sit up and eat at the same time. I tell you what, every day that I grow up more, I'm expected to learn how to do something new. I miss the old days when I just had to be cute and let everyone take care of me. Geez, I didn't know that I was going to have to learn new things just because I was growing up. By the way, I'm almost a big boy now!!!

Ewy Gooey.....

Grandma Domo lets me make a mess. She likes to feed me when she comes to visit. Then when I'm all done making a mess she snuggles with me. I'm still not so sure about this whole "spoon" thing that people keep sticking in my mouth. And the stuff that goes in my mouth when the spoon goes in tastes funny....it's not like my milk at all. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with it. Sometimes I push it out of my mouth with my tongue, but most of the time it goes all the way to the back of my mouth and disappears. I do know one thing. After the spoon is all done going in my mouth, my tummy feels full. I like it when my tummy feels full! I guess I'll try to adjust to this new way of filling my tummy....it can't be that bad.

On 11-29-2006 mommy and Grandma Domo took me to see this guy. He must be really important because he had an office right in the middle of the mall. Mommy said his name was Santa Claus. I'm pretty sure I haven't met him before...and it took me a little while to get used to him. But you know what? I think it took him a little while to not be afraid to hold me. He saw my Nose Hose and the wires on my body and looked a little worried at first, but he eventually loosened up. We had a great talk, I told him that I needed him to make sure that all my friends and family had a wonderful Christmas and then he asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told him that if it was possible, I would really like to not have to wear my Nose Hose anymore. He said that was a pretty steep request, but he would see what he could do.

What's going on?

On 11-28-06 my Dr. Clark told mommy that she could give me some rice cereal. I didn't understand what my Dr. Clark was talking about, but now I do. Mommy stuck this rubber thing in my mouth and it left some wet stuff on my tongue. It doesn't taste too bad, but it feels a lot different than my milk. Mommy only made me take a couple bites and then she mixed the left over in with some more milk. You know, when that stuff comes out of the bottle, it taste really great....but that rubber thing in my mouth just seems like too much work. But I have to admit, it is pretty fun spitting it at mommy:)

Quality Domo Time

Here's Cicily Bea and I spending some quality time with Grandma Domo on Thanksgiving day. Cicily and my Auntie Sue and Uncle Reid had to fly back to Texas on Thanksgiving day so we all celebrated Thanksgiving the evening before. I was very jealous because all the big people were eating all this food stuff that looked really yummy. Don't get me wrong, I love my milk, but that food stuff might taste really good! They wouldn't let me even try a piece of it. Mommy said it was because I didn't have any teeth, I think she just didn't want to share!

Me and My Cousins

Here's a picture of me, Cicily Bea, and Annie at Thanksgiving. Grandma Domo bought me and Cicily Bea matching Christmas outfits and Annie got to pretend she was a reindeer. This is an odd year (every other year the Hewlitts celebrate Christmas together) so I won't get to see Cicily Bea or Annie at Christmas. That's why we are wearing Christmas outfits now. I think it makes perfect sense:)

I yelled at mommy!

Okay, I'm sure you all agree with me that mommy and daddy need to let me be on the computer a lot more often. I mean really...there is no excuse for going over a month without being able to say hi to all my friends. And do you know what else? I just found out that people have been sending me comments on here and I've never known that before!!!!

I am so sorry that I haven't replied to your comments....both mommy and me had no idea there were any comments until My Sonya fixed my page. Please forgive me!!!!!! So I had a very serious talk with my mommy and told her that if she didn't allow me computer time then I was going to stay up all night with daddy so I could use the computer. Okay okay, I didn't really yell at her, I mean after all....she doesn't let me use the computer because we're too busy playing in the evenings. But I promise that I am going to take the next couple of days to catch everyone up to date. Once I've done that, I'm going to make my mommy schedule regular computer time just for me:) After all, in just three more months I will be 1 year old. Can you believe that????????????????????????????????????? I can't.....and I'm constantly reminded by my doctors that I have an adjusted birthdate. The way I see it, I have a real birthday and an adjusted birthday... YIPEE, PRESENTS TWICE:) haha

SO....I'M SO SORRY....I WILL GET TO WORK UPDATING YOU!!!

We've been updated!

You may notice that my blog is a little different, but only a little. Mommy has been having a lot of problems getting my new photos to show up on the blog so Auntie Sonya upgraded us to the new Blogger system, whatever that means. It's supposed to be much faster so hopefully Mommy can get the photos to stay. Auntie Sonya says we have to do something about this because I'm "too darn cute" not to have my photos with Santa on here! Keep your fingers crossed!

I got to hold Auntie Maggie

Hi everyone,

I had a really great Thanksgiving....I hope all of you did too!! I got to see Grandma and Grandpa Hewlitt and all my aunts and uncles...and my new cousin Cicily Bea. I got to hold my Auntie Maggie, but I don't remember holding Uncle Rob...I'll have to go down to Texas and hold him as soon as I'm old enough to go to Texas. Maybe mommy and daddy will drive me there since I don't have a driver's license. How far away is Texas anyway?

So anyway, I spent the night with all my relatives at Grandma and Grandpa Hewlitt's house. They ate turkey and lots of other stuff. I just ate milk because I don't have any teeth to chew....but I'm working on growing some teeth....I'm practicing chewing all the time these days.

I was so excited to see all my aunts and uncles for the first time...except my Auntie Rachel. Auntie Rachel and I go way back to when I was still in the hospital. We have our own preemie language:)

Uncle Reid and Auntie Sue brought Cicily Bea, my cousin, with them. Cousin Cici is bigger than me, but I'm still older than her. She's got more muscles I think though, she can sit in a high chair all by herself....I don't have enough muscles in my body to sit up straight in a high chair, so I didn't get to sit at the table. Cici's so pretty....she has a really awesome smile and she's silly too. She kept looking at me and laughing so I guess she thinks I'm silly too...I hope I get to see her again soon!!!

Auntie Maggie and Uncle Rob brought my dog cousin, Annie, with them. Annie was great!!! She's the first dog that I've ever met and I really liked her because she was so nice to me. I got to feel her fur and she licked me on the face. I think that means she really liked me too....she even came to visit me at my house after thanksgiving. She layed down on my blanket and took a nap with me...I liked sharing with her.

I'm going to put more pictures of my Thankgiving on here so you can see them. I hope you like them!!!

My Crib, my room

I slept in my very own crib in my very own room for two whole days. Then mommy missed me and I got sick so I went back to sleeping in my craddle next to mommy and daddy's bed.

I have to admit I have lots more room in my crib to move around, but it's lonely in my room. Although....I do have a pretty cool paint job in there. And there's this light in the corner that I can talk into and mommy and daddy can hear me in their room. It's like a microphone or something.

I'm finally starting to feel better now....I'm not as stuffy and my cough is better too. Maybe when I'm all better I will sleep more nights in my crib. First I have to work on mommy because she misses me so much. I don't know what I'm going to do with her!!!!!

I am all sicky, YUCK

The last few days i havent been feeling very good at all so my mommy took me to the doctor and it turns out that im sick!!! Let me tell ya i had no idea how YUCKY being sick would be im all stuffed up and its hard to breathe sometimes!!! The good news is my doctor gave mommy some different kind of breathers ( thats what daddy calls my nebulizer treatments, so i play along dont want to spoil his fun!!) to help me while im sick and even some fancy stuff to clear up my nose. even though i got all that good stuff being sick is no fun at all, a little man uses up lots of energy just tryin to breathe when hes sick. I am feeling alot better now that i got the new breathers to help me but from now on if i have a choice i wont be sick again its way way too much work!!! hopefully i can get back to my regular old self..... ZANDER THE GREAT soon

Mommy's little helper

Look at me, I'm helping mommy do the laundry:) I decided that I would help her sort the different colors...but then I realized that I don't know all of my colors yet, and I'm too short to grab the clothes out of the basket. So.....I decided to sit in the basket and throw things out. I think it really helped mommy a lot!!!:)

How funny!

Today I got my revenge on mommy for all the shots I've had to get so far. See, mommy had a doctor's appointment today and first she had blood drawn, then she got a shot! I laughed at her when the lab people were taking her blood, but she thought it was because I was flirting with one of the other lab techs. But then when we were in the exam room, the nurse came in to give mommy a flu shot and I was just sitting quietly next to mommy. It was so funny because mommy was cringing and I thought she was going to cry. I had to laugh at her!!!!! Now she knows how it feels when a little Zander has to get shots...they hurt lots!

Now I just need to figure out how to get revenge on daddy. hahahahahahaha!

Yay for visitors!!!!

I got to see My Sonya today and she brought her mommy with her too! I'm gonna call My Sonya's mommy Grandma Jeri, just so you know....you probably should ask her if it's okay before you call her that. Anyway, Grandma Jeri was going to come visit me a couple months ago but she got some poison itchy thing. She told me that it was from a plant or something...I'm gonna stay away from those poison plants!!

She brought me a big, huge book call Itsy Bitsy Spider....it even comes with a little spider, just the rght size for me! I can't wait to read it and guess what???? It comes with a CD so you can play the song with it! Yay for me:)

I got to be held by Grandma Jeri and My Sonya....it was so awesome, I showed them how I can kick and move all over the place....and my smile too....I think mommy snuck a picture of me smiling....I wasn't watching, otherwise I would have stopped smiling, it's a fun game I play with mommy!!!

I got a shot yesterday for RSV...the shot is supposed to stop me from getting this RSV thing. Frosty, my visiting nurse came to my house so I didn't have to go to the doctor. Remember Tai? She's going to give me my shot next month because I have to have these stupid shots every month during the winter...don't doctors understand that baby Zanders don't like shots?! I haven't seen Tai since August I think.

Anyway, Frosty had to give me a shot. I'm going to try very hard not to hold it against her, she's only doing her job....but man oh man....it hurt!!!!:( I cried for a whole 3 minutes...then I was all better. :)

Frosty had to weigh me before the shot so she could figure out how much to give me. She did my height and measured my head too. I weigh 13 lbs and 4 ozs. and I'm 25 inches tall. I'm over two feet tall now...that's awesome! My head keeps growing too...it's 16 and 1/2 inches...If I'm not careful my head may be bigger than my height soon. I need to keep an eye on that.

Other than that, I don't have any new news...I've just been staying inside as much as possible because I don't like being cold. I hang out with mommy and daddy and have visits sometimes so I'm doing great!

Happy Halloween

Hi everyone, I hope you had a great Halloween:) I didn't go out trick or treating because I can't eat the candy. Mommy gave me the choice but I decided that if I didn't get to eat the candy then I wasn't going out in the cold! I did dress up though....can you see what I am? I'm a giraffe!!!!:)

I helped mommy pass out candy to all the kids who knocked on our door. Some of them were really scarey, but I didn't cry...not even once. Grandma and Grandpa Orr even came to spend some time with the little giraffe.

Mommy and I went to the NICU to visit the nurses and take them some candy and cookies. Daddy was sad because he had to work all evening. He really wanted to see our favorite nurses too.

It was a really fun night and I was sooooo good....I kept my giraffe on for a whole 3 hours without complaining about it. I'm so awesome:)

Chilly Willy

I don't know if you are aware of what I'm about to tell you....brace yourselves....It's COLD outside!

The tree in the front of my house lost all of it's leaves in one day. Mommy and I came home from day care one day to find the whole driveway covered in leaves and the whole porch covered too. Mommy decided to get my picture playing in the leaves before it gets too cold. Right after this picture was taken I had a seriously talk with mommy....it's true....I made her sit down and look me in the eyes while I explained to her that it's ALREADY COLD!!!!!!! She promised to keep me warm always from now on:)

Multi-tasking

This is my favorite picture because it shows just how smart I am. Do you see that I CAN hold onto my Giraffe, read a book, and exercise my legs.....all at the same time!!!!!!!!!! Has there ever been another baby who can do so much at one time?

I may not be able to crawl, or walk yet, but I can do three things at once! That's got to count for something:)

Addy and I

Here's a picture of Addy and me at her baby shower. She got lots of fun presents and there was yummy milk for Addy and I. We even wore matching clothes:)